Heat Exchanger

ABSTRACT

A heat exchanger for a vehicle is provided. The heat exchanger includes a housing, a portion of the housing defining a boundary of a coolant channel traversing the heat exchanger, the housing including a first and second opposing side having a layered construction, the first side positioned at a vehicle periphery and including a greater number of layers than the second side. The heat exchanger further includes coolant inlet and outlet ports fluidly coupled to coolant passages.

BACKGROUND/SUMMARY

Heat exchangers, such as radiators, are used in vehicles to reject heat from engine coolant circulated within an engine. Heat exchangers may use circulated air generated through vehicle motion to transfer heat from the heat exchanger to the surrounding environment. To increase the circulated airflow and therefore the rate of heat transfer, heat exchangers may be situated near the periphery of the vehicle, such as in the vehicle's grill. However, the heat exchanger may become damaged by impacts from road debris or from a collision.

Therefore, attempts have been made to shield heat exchangers to reduce the likelihood of impact damage. For example a shielded heat exchanger for a vehicle is disclosed in U.S. 2010/0089546. The heat exchanger includes a shielding channel positioned near the periphery of the heat exchanger. The shielding channel acts as an impact barrier providing increased impact resistance.

However, the Inventors have recognized several drawbacks with the heat exchanger disclosed in U.S. 2010/0089546. The shielding channel may not provide adequate reinforcement to protect the heat exchanger against impacts from external elements such as road debris. Moreover the complicated coolant channel structure may be costly to manufacture, as well as repair.

As such, in one approach, a heat exchanger for a vehicle is provided. The heat exchanger includes a housing, a portion of the housing defining a boundary of a coolant channel traversing the heat exchanger, the housing including a first and second opposing side each side having a layered construction, the first side positioned near a periphery of the vehicle and including a greater number of layers than the second side. The heat exchanger further includes coolant inlet and outlet ports fluidly coupled to coolant passages in the vehicle.

In this way, the structural integrity of an exposed portion of the heat exchanger may be reinforced via the multiple layers of the first side of the heat exchanger. As a result, the likelihood of damage to the heat exchanger caused by impacts by road debris, collisions, and other external elements may be decreased.

Further in some embodiments, the layers of the first and/or second side may be folded and the housing may be formed of a continuous piece of material, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost of the heat exchanger when compared to other construction techniques such as extrusion. Furthermore, it will be appreciated that the number of layers in the first side of the housing be adjusted during manufacturing to provide a desired amount of reinforcement for different vehicle designs. For example, the number of layers may be increased in a vehicle requiring added reinforcement. In this way, the heat exchanger may be used in a wide range of vehicles, thereby increasing the heat exchanger's applicability and therefore market appeal.

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 shows a schematic depiction of a vehicle including a heat exchanger and an engine.

FIG. 2 shows an illustration of an example vehicle including the heat exchanger shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of the heat exchanger shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the first embodiment of the heat exchanger shown in FIG. 3.

FIGS. 5-8 show cross-sectional views of additional embodiments of the heat exchanger shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 9 shows a method for operation of a cooling system in a vehicle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A heat exchanger having increased structural integrity is disclosed herein. The heat exchanger may include a housing, a portion of the housing defining a boundary of a coolant channel traversing the heat exchanger, the housing including a first and second opposing side each side having a layered construction, the first side positioned at a vehicle periphery and including a greater number of layers than the second side. In this way, the structural integrity of the heat exchanger may be increased via increasing the thickness of the housing in a desired area (e.g., the front of the heat exchanger). As a result the likelihood of damage to the heat exchanger from external impacts may be reduced thereby increasing the heat exchanger's durability and longevity. Further in some embodiments, the layers of the first and/or second side may be folded and the housing may be constructed out of a continuous piece of material, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost of the heat exchanger when compared to other construction techniques such as extrusion.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic depiction of a vehicle 10 including an engine 12 or other suitable motor, and a heat exchanger 14. The engine may be a suitable engine such as an internal combustion engine. Alternatively, the vehicle may include a hybrid electric powertrain having an internal combustion engine and an electric motor. Exemplary hybrid powertrains include a parallel hybrid engine in which both the internal combustion engine and the electric motor can transmit mechanical power to the wheels via a transmission and a series hybrid engine in which the internal combustion engine is used as a generator to power the electric motor. In still another example, the vehicle may include an electric-only powertrain, with the heat exchanger providing cooling for the electric motor, batteries, or combinations thereof.

The vehicle 10 further includes an intake system 16 and an exhaust system 18. However, when an electric motor is utilized in vehicle 10 the intake and exhaust system may not be included in the vehicle. The intake system 16 may be configured to provide air to the engine for combustion. Likewise the exhaust system 18 may be configured to receive exhaust gases from the engine. Arrow 15 depicts the flow of intake air into engine 12. Arrow 17 depicts the flow of exhaust gas into exhaust system 18. The engine 12 may include at least one combustion chamber 19 having an intake valve (not shown) and an exhaust valve (not shown). The engine may be configured to combustion fuel to produce motive power for the vehicle. Furthermore, the engine may include a cylinder head 20 and cylinder block 22 forming the at least one combustion chamber 19.

As shown, at least two coolant conduits (e.g.., an inlet coolant conduit 24 and an outlet coolant conduit 26) may be fluidly coupled to the heat exchanger 14. The inlet and outlet coolant conduits (24 and 26) may be correspondingly coupled to a coolant inlet port 28 and a coolant outlet port 30 in the heat exchanger 14. The coolant inlet port may be configured to flow coolant into the heat exchanger and the coolant outlet port may be configured to flow coolant out of the heat exchanger. In this way coolant may be circulated through the heat exchanger 14.

The heat exchanger 14 may be fluidly coupled to one or more coolant passages 25 traversing the engine 12, intake system 16, and/or exhaust system 18. As depicted, the heat exchanger is fluidly coupled to the engine via the inlet coolant conduit 24 and the outlet coolant conduit 26. Specifically in some examples, the coolant passages 25 traversing the engine 12 may be included in the cylinder block 22 and/or the cylinder head 20. Thus, the coolant passages 25 may traverse the cylinder head and/or the cylinder block. The coolant passage in the cylinder block 22 may be referred to as a cylinder block coolant jacket. Likewise the coolant passages in the cylinder head 20 may be referred to as a cylinder head coolant jacket. In this way, excess heat generated during engine operation may be transferred to the working fluid in the coolant passages 25 and subsequently dissipated via the heat exchanger 14. Additionally or alternatively the coolant inlet and outlet conduits may be fluidly coupled coolant passages in the intake system and/or exhaust system. The coolant passages may be included in an intercooler, an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) cooler, etc.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary vehicle 10 in which the heat exchanger 14 may be positioned. The heat exchanger 14 in FIG. 2 is schematically depicted. As shown the heat exchanger 14 may be positioned near the periphery of the vehicle 10. Specifically, the heat exchanger is positioned in the front of the vehicle. The front of the vehicle may be defined as a side of the vehicle adjacent to the vehicle's leading edge when driven in a forward direction.

FIGS. 3-8 show various embodiments of the heat exchanger 14 show in FIGS. 1 and 2. The views in FIGS. 3-8 are cross-sectional views. Therefore, it will be appreciated that the cross-sectional cutting planes defining the cross-sections in FIGS. 3-8 are perpendicular to the general coolant flow in the heat exchanger. In other words, coolant may flow into and out of the page or visa-versa during operation of the heat exchanger 14. The various embodiments heat exchanger 14 depicted in FIGS. 3-8 provide several advantages over previous heat exchanger designs such as heat exchangers designed with a single layer of housing. The benefits including increased durability as well as low manufacturing cost.

Now reference is made to FIG. 3, which depicts a cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of the heat exchanger 14. As shown, the heat exchanger 14 may include a first housing 300 a portion of the first housing defining a boundary of a coolant channel 301 traversing the heat exchanger 14. It will be appreciated that the cross-section shown in FIG. 3 is substantially perpendicular to the flow the coolant through coolant channel 301. As shown, coolant channel 301 is non-circular. However, in other embodiments the coolant channel may be circular. The first housing 300 includes a first and second opposing side, 302 and 304 respectively. The first housing 300 may be constructed out of a suitable material such as steel, aluminum, etc. Furthermore, the material may be ductile, facilitating bending and folding during manufacturing.

The first side 302 has a layered construction. For example, the first side 302 may include a plurality of layers 306 of the first housing 300. In the depicted embodiment, the first housing 300 is formed out of a single continuous piece of material. The following construction technique may be used to construct the first housing 300. A first end 309 of the first housing 300 is folded to form two layers 311. The second end 313 of the first housing 300 is then folded and couple to the first two layers 311 forming a third layer 315. In this way, the first side 302 of the first housing 300 may be formed out of three layers. It will be appreciated that the layers (311 and 315) of the first side 302 may be coupled via a suitable technique such as welding, bonding, etc. Specifically in the depicted embodiments a side 303 of the third layer 315 is in face sharing contact with and coupled (e.g., welded, bonded, etc.,) to a side 305 of one of the two layers 311. In this way, the coolant channel 301 may be sealed to reduce the likelihood of coolant leaks. Additionally, the two layers 311 and the third layer are positioned in face sharing contact and contiguous with one another. However, in other embodiments other construction techniques may be used. For example, the first end 309 and the second end 313 of the first housing 300 may be abutted and coupled (e.g., welded, bonded, etc.,) to form the coolant channel 301.

Moreover, the first side 302 has a greater number of layers than the second side 304. Thus the second side 304 also has a layered construction. It will be appreciated that a layered construction may include a single layer construction. Specifically as shown in FIG. 3 the first side 302 has three layers and the second side 304 has a single layer. In such an embodiment, the thickness T1 of the first side may be three times the thickness T2 of the second side. However, other configurations are possible as discussed in greater detail herein with regard to FIGS. 5-6. The first side 302 of the first housing 300 may be externally exposed when positioned in the vehicle 10, leaving it vulnerable to impacts from debris, collisions, etc. By increasing the number of layers of the first side 302 the durability of the first side is increased. In this way, the likelihood of impact damage from road debris or a collision may be significantly reduced. As a result, the longevity of the heat exchanger 14 may be increased.

The first housing 300 further includes a third and a fourth side, 308 and 310 respectively. The third and fourth sides (308 and 310) may also have fewer layers than the first side 302. It will be appreciated that the first side may be the only side that is externally exposed and the second side, third side, and fourth side may be protected via the vehicle structure. Therefore the second third and fourth sides may not need as much structural reinforcement as the first side, in some examples. However, in other embodiments the second, third, and/or fourth sides may be externally exposed and/or include additional layers for increased durability.

FIG. 3 further depicts a second housing 312 forming a second coolant channel 314. It will be appreciated that the second housing 312 may have an identical geometric construction as the first housing 300. However, in other embodiments, the designs of the housing may be dissimilar. For example, the first side 302 of the first housing 300 may include 3 layers and the first side 316 of the second housing 312 may include 2 layers. Moreover, in other embodiments the heat exchanger 14 may not include the second housing 312.

Specifically, the second housing 312 includes a first and second opposing side, 316 and 318 respectively. The second housing 312 may be constructed out of a suitable material such as steel, aluminum, etc. Furthermore, the material may be ductile, facilitating bending and folding during manufacturing. However, in other embodiments the material may be a non-malleable material such as a plastic. It will be appreciated that the first housing 300 and the second housing 312 may be constructed out of similar materials in some embodiments.

Similar to the first housing 300, the first side 316 of the second housing 312 has a layered construction. That is to say that the first side 316 may include a plurality of layers 318 of the second housing 312. The layers may be formed via a suitable technique such as folding. Moreover, the first side 316 has a greater number of layers than the second side 318. Specifically as shown in FIG. 3 the first side 316 has three layers and the second side 318 has a single layer. In such an embodiment the thickness T3 of the first side 316 may be three times the thickness T4 of the second side 318. However, other configurations are possible as discussed in greater detail herein with regard to FIGS. 5-6.

The second housing 312 further includes a third and a fourth side, 320 and 322 respectively. The third and fourth sides (320 and 322) may also have fewer layers than the first side 316. It will be appreciated that the first side may be the only side that is externally exposed and the second side 318, third side 320, and fourth side 322 may be protected via the vehicle structure. Therefore the second third and fourth sides (318, 320, and 322) may not need as much structural reinforcement as the first side, in some examples. However, in other embodiments the second, third, and/or fourth sides may be externally exposed and/or include additional layers for increased durability.

In the depicted embodiment the second housing 312 is formed via a single continuous piece of material. To construct the layers the second housing 312 may be folded or bent via a construction technique similar to the technique described above with regard to the first housing 300. However, in other embodiments, the first housing 300 and the second housing 312 may be constructed via different techniques.

As shown at least one fin 324 may extend between the first housing 300 and the second housing 312. It will be appreciated that a plurality of fins may be used in other embodiments. The number of fins may be selected based on the properties of the housing and fin material as well as the cooling requirements of the vehicle, etc.

Additional fins 326 and 328 may be coupled to the first housing 300 and the second housing 312, respectively. Specifically fin 328 is coupled to the third side 308 of the first housing 300 and fin 328 is coupled to the fourth side 322of the second housing 312. Air may flow through the fins during vehicle operation. As a result heat from the heat exchanger 14 may be dissipated into the surrounding environment.

In some embodiments the general direction of flow of coolant through the first coolant channel 301 may be opposed to the general direction of flow of coolant through the second coolant channel 314. However in other embodiments the general direction of flow through both the first and second coolant channels (301 and 314) may be in the same direction.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the first embodiments of heat exchanger 14. As shown a plurality of fins 400 extend between the first and second housings (300 and 312 respectively). It will be appreciated that fin 324 shown in FIG. 3 is included in the plurality of fins 400. Additionally, a plurality of fins 402 may extend from the first housing 300. Fin 326, shown in FIG. 3 is included in the plurality of fins 402. Likewise a plurality of fins 404 may extend from the second housing 312. Fin 328 shown in FIG. 3 is included in the plurality of fins 404.

A support structure 406 may be provided to attach the first housing 300 to the second housing 312, thereby fixing the relative position of the first housing with regard to the second housing. However, in other embodiments the support structure 406 may not be included in the heat exchanger 14. Cutting plane 408 defines the cross-section of the heat exchanger 14 shown in FIG. 3.

FIGS. 5-8 show other embodiments of the first housing 300 in heat exchanger 14 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. It will be appreciated that the second housing 312 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 may have a similar configuration to the embodiments of the first housing 300 shown in FIGS. 5-8. Moreover, the embodiments of the first housing 300 shown in FIGS. 5-8 may include elements corresponding to the first embodiments of the first housing 300 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, therefore similar parts are labeled accordingly.

Specifically, FIGS. 5 and 6 show a second and third embodiment of the first housing 300 in heat exchanger 14. As shown, the number of layers in the first side 302 may be altered. Specifically, the first side 302 may include two layers, as shown in FIG. 5, or may include four layers as shown in FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 6 the fold may be positioned on opposing sides of the first housing 300. However, other folding arrangements are possible. It will be appreciated that when the first housing 300 has a substantially equal width the thickness of the sides may be multiples of the number of layers included in the first side 302. For example, the thickness T1 of the first side 302 in the embodiment of the heat exchanger depicted in FIG. 5 may be twice the thickness T2 of the second side 304. Likewise, the thickness T1 of the first side 302 in the embodiment of the heat exchanger depicted in FIG. 6 may be four times the thickness T2 of the second side 304.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of heat exchanger 14. As show the second side 304 may be curved. It will be appreciated that the radius R1 of the curve may be half of the height H1 in some examples. When the second side 304 of the heat exchanger 14 is curved the number of creases in the first housing 300 is reduced. As a result the manufacturing process is simplified and therefore the cost of the manufacturing process is reduced.

FIG. 8 show embodiments of heat exchanger having a second coolant channel. Specifically, FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of heat exchanger 14 in which a single continuous piece of material is folded to form the first coolant channel 301 and a second coolant channel 800. As shown wall 802 between the first and second coolant channels (301 and 800) includes two layers 804.

FIG. 9 shows a method 900 for constructing a heat exchanger such as heat exchanger 14 described above. At 902 the method includes folding a continuous piece of material to form a housing defining a coolant channel, the housing having a first and second opposing side, the first side having a greater number of layers than the second side. Next at 904 the method includes welding the plurality of layers to seal the coolant channel. In some embodiments method 900 may include prior to step 904, folding the piece of material to form a second coolant channel positioned adjacent to the second side. This step may be used to manufacture a heat exchanger similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 7. In some embodiments the method may further include steps 906, 908, and/or 910. It will be appreciated that steps 906-910 may be implemented to manufacture a heat exchanger similar to the embodiment of heat exchanger 14 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. However, in other embodiments the method may end after step 904. At 906 the method may include folding a second continuous piece of material to form a second housing, a portion of the second housing defining a boundary of a second coolant channel traversing the heat exchanger, the second housing having a first and second opposing side, the first side having a greater number of layers than the second side. Next at 908 the method includes welding two or more layers of the second housing to seal the second coolant channel. At 910 the method further includes attaching one or more fins to the first housing and the second housing.

Method 900 provides several advantages over other manufacturing methods such as extrusion. Firstly, it is inexpensive to manufacture a heat exchanger via this method. Furthermore, the manufacturing process may be easily modified to fit a number of engineering designs. In this way, applicability of the heat exchanger may be expanded to a number of different vehicles having different cooling needs.

It will be appreciated that the configurations and/or approaches described herein are exemplary in nature, and that these specific embodiments or examples are not to be considered in a limiting sense, because numerous variations are possible. The subject matter of the present disclosure includes all novel and nonobvious combinations and subcombinations of the various features, functions, acts, and/or properties disclosed herein, as well as any and all equivalents thereof. 

1. A heat exchanger for a vehicle comprising: a housing, a portion of the housing defining a boundary of a coolant channel traversing the heat exchanger, the housing including first and second opposing sides having a layered construction, the first side positioned at a vehicle periphery and including a greater number of layers than the second side; and coolant inlet and outlet ports fluidly coupled to coolant passages.
 2. The heat exchanger of claim 1, wherein the layers of the first and/or second side are folded.
 3. The heat exchanger of claim 2, wherein the housing is formed of a continuous piece of material.
 4. The heat exchanger of claim 1, wherein the second side includes a single layer of material.
 5. The heat exchanger of claim 1, wherein the coolant passages traverse a portion of an engine.
 6. The heat exchanger of claim 5, wherein the coolant passages traverse a cylinder head and/or a cylinder block, the cylinder head and the cylinder block forming at least one combustion chamber.
 7. The heat exchanger of claim 1, further comprising a second housing, a portion of the second housing defining a boundary of a second coolant channel traversing the heat exchanger, the second housing including a first and second opposing side each side having a layered construction, the first side positioned at the vehicle periphery and including a greater number of layers than the second side.
 8. The heat exchanger of claim 7, further comprising at least one fin extending between the first housing and the second housing.
 9. The heat exchanger of claim 1, wherein a portion of the housing defines a boundary of a second coolant channel traversing the heat exchanger, the second coolant channel positioned adjacent to the second side.
 10. The heat exchanger of claim 1, wherein the coolant inlet and outlet ports are fluidly coupled to coolant passages traversing a cylinder head and/or a cylinder block in an engine.
 11. A heat exchanger for a vehicle comprising: a housing formed from a continuous piece of ductile material, a portion of the housing defining a boundary of a coolant channel traversing the heat exchanger, the housing including a first and second opposing side each side having a layered construction, the first side positioned at a vehicle periphery and including a greater number of layers than the second side; coolant inlet and outlet ports fluidly coupled to one or more coolant passages traversing an engine.
 12. The heat exchanger of claim 11, further comprising a second housing, a portion of the second housing defining a boundary of a second coolant channel traversing the heat exchanger, the second housing including a first and second opposing side each side having a layered construction, the first side positioned near a front of the vehicle and including a greater number of layers than the second side.
 13. The heat exchanger of claim 12, further comprising at least one fin extending between the first housing and the second housing.
 14. The heat exchanger of claim 11, wherein a portion of the housing defines a boundary of a second coolant channel traversing the heat exchanger, the second coolant channel positioned adjacent to the second side.
 15. The heat exchanger of claim 11, wherein a cross-section of the coolant channel perpendicular to the general direction of coolant flow is non-circular.
 16. The heat exchanger of claim 11, wherein the housing is constructed out of a ductile material.
 17. A heat exchanger for a vehicle comprising: a housing formed from a continuous piece of material, a portion of the housing defining a boundary of a coolant channel traversing the heat exchanger, the housing including a first and second opposing side each side having a layered construction, the first side positioned at a vehicle periphery and including a greater number of layers than the second side; coolant inlet and outlet ports fluidly coupled to one or more coolant passages traversing a cylinder block and/or a cylinder head in an engine.
 18. The heat exchanger of claim 17, wherein the layers of the first side are folded and in face sharing contact.
 19. The heat exchanger of claim 17, further comprising a second housing, a portion of the second housing defining a boundary of a second coolant channel traversing the heat exchanger, the second housing including a first and second opposing side each side having a layered construction, the first side positioned near the vehicle periphery and including a greater number of layers than the second side.
 20. The heat exchanger of claim 19, further comprising at least one fin extending between the first housing and the second housing. 